Two Petersburg Teens Charged with Harassing Game after Incriminating Video Surfaces on Snapchat

Screenshot of deer from the Snapchat video connected to the February 5th incident.

Following contact with a concerned citizen who reported a video posted on social media showing a driver intentionally trying to ram three deer on Wrangell Avenue near Petersburg, troopers opened an investigation that resulted in misdemeanor charges being filed against two Petersburg teens.

On February 12th, the 17-year-old teen driver and his teen passenger, also 17, who videoed the incident and posted it to Snapchat, were charged with Game Harassment. The driver was also charged with Reckless Driving.

The teens told investigators that they were merely trying to scare the deer for fun and were not attempting to hit the deer, although the video taken on February 5th contradicts their version of the incident. The video shows two of the three deer being hit by the vehicle in the residential neighborhood while the two laughed about it.

The teens said that the deer that they hit did not die, but, troopers found blood evidence at the location.

The two teens admitted to hitting another deer the night before on Sandy Beach Road. They allege that the deer jumped out in front of the truck. A person living in that area would later find the dead deer at that location. The investigation found that the vehicle had sustained a broken headlight from that incident and also found deer hair caught in the front of the truck.

The two teens will be arraigned on the charges on February 26th. They face a $400 fine for each animal.